After making a positive impression on Australian audiences at Good Things 2023, Slaughter to Prevail have found themselves back in the country with a fresh snarl – as if it could be any more intense.
Touring the East Coast as part of Knotfest Australia, Slaughter to Prevail have brought with them the first tastes of what will become their new album and live era, Grizzly. Splitting the festival crowd straight down the middle to encourage a massive and brutal wall of death is something of a party trick they’ve been able to master at their festival sets around the world.
Slaughter to Prevail’s late afternoon set drew one of the most chaotic crowds of the day at Knotfest Melbourne, fans battling heatstroke to hang off of every guttural growl and instruction levelled at them by the band’s frontman, Alex Terrible.
Even from the back of the crowd, it’s impossible not to be drawn in by the hedonistic nature of this band; a psychotic smile breaks across the singer’s face as a small trickle of blood sneaks its way down his forehead, having taken a beating from the microphone.
Thriving on the extreme, it’s no wonder that the persona of this musician has developed notoriety online as it has on stage. A quick scan of his social media channels and the image comes together quickly.
Happily wrestling bears as he is flashing guns and fast cars, the Alex Terrible that has garnered over two million followers on Instagram positions himself as someone who thrives on adrenaline in all its forms: whether it’s in front of a crowd of thousands, or on the receiving end of bare-knuckle MMA blows.
It’s this perception I admittedly have of him when we meet, and the intrigue is just as strong. It’s no secret that Alex Terrible’s (real name, Aleksandr Shikolai) life – his childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood – has not been without its hardships.
Openly admitting to his years battling drug addiction as a young person, Shikolai has also been open about the mistakes he’s made as a result of leading such a turbulent lifestyle; some stemming from his addiction, others relating to the people he’d surrounded himself with during this period of his life.
So, sitting with Shikolai and his Slaughter to Prevail creative partner, British musician Jack Simmons, I’m interested in discovering more about one of deathcore’s biggest bands, and how they’re navigating a rising profile in the face of significant controversy.
Away from the noise and temperatures outside, Shikolai and Simmons enjoy a brief moment of air-conditioned peace. Both are somewhat quietly spoken, but when they do speak, they do so with empathy and enthusiasm – both for their music and what they want to achieve with it.
“We feel like we have something to prove,” Simmons says, noting Slaughter to Prevail’s position on a festival like Knotfest is definitely on the heavier end of the ‘heavy’ spectrum.
Bringing potential new fans into the fold is always at the fore and as this Australian return has already proven, the hunger for what Slaughter to Prevail present musically is at a particularly ravenous peak.
“Everyone is actually very respectful. There is no animosity or anything in the crowd,” Simmons explains. “When I was younger, I’d read about these notorious bands who would have crowds like this like Slayer, Pantera; I can see the same thing forming for us.
“When it comes to our festival set-ups especially, fans are just losing their minds. This energy they give to us, we give it straight back. I think that right now, we have the craziest fans in metal.”
Shikolai agrees. Slaughter to Prevail’s inclusion on the Knotfest Australia lineup marks the band’s first time performing as part of the globally-renowned event; it would be highly unsurprising if fans see them appearing on other international editions of the festival.
As fans of Slipknot growing up, the gravity of the experience has not been lost on them.
“I grew up with their music. This is the first time we’ve played a Knotfest, so that means a lot for me,” Shikolai says. “The wall of death was good [today], I love to see when people go crazy for us, but somebody got hurt. The paramedics had to come, but hopefully he will be okay.”
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With two studio albums to date – 2017’s Misery Sermon and 2021’s Kostolom – Slaughter to Prevail have carved a space of their own as modern deathcore champions. The upcoming Grizzly album, as Shikolai indicates, stands to be the most complete representation of Slaughter to Prevail to date.
“With the last album, Kostolom, it was half and half,” he explains. “Half of it were songs I was very happy with, but the rest of it was not that good. We didn’t pay so much attention to small details when we worked on the songs but for this album, we did everything we wanted and it is much better for it.”
Having relocated to the US in 2022, Shikolai and the majority of the band now reside in Florida. Shikolai explains that the move was purely to further Slaughter to Prevail’s career, though he is open that in his home country of Russia, there’s a perception that he left in order to avoid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Their song “1984” directly referenced the consequence and bloodshed enacted by warfare. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it landed Shikolai and the band in a discourse they may not necessarily have been looking to be part of.
“When the Russia and Ukraine war set in, everyone began to say that we left our country because we don’t want to go to war,” Shikolai remembers. “We are against the war, but I am not against my country. I hate when people think I left my country because of political situations. I’m not a political guy, I’m just a musician.”
“With ‘1984’, the lyrics are about war – not exactly about the Russian and Ukrainian war, but war in general. For me, war is a bad thing. That much is obvious – for everybody, it is bad. I don’t know the reasons for it and I want it to stop. I want everybody to feel alright, I want peaceful skies above everyone’s head.”
Shikolai brings this back to the importance of an album like Grizzly. The album began to come together in 2022, and features songs both Shikolai and Simmons can’t wait to perform for fans. Some, they describe as simply having “powerful, stupid energy that come from the heart” (“Grizzly”, “Banditos”), while others are more personal to Shikolai, now he lives away from Russia.
“We have this song on the album called ‘Родина’ or ‘Rodina’, which means ‘motherland’ in Russian. I started to write it because people were attacking Russia. Of course, the situation is very fucking bad. It is. My country is my home though. I love my home.”
“From the musical side, the instrumental side of the new album… I’m English, so I’m learning about Russian culture,” Simmons adds. “It’s been very interesting. In metal and extreme music, we have the opportunity to showcase culture; not the culture you read about with the war, but the culture itself.”
“We have a lot of samples: ‘Banditos’ has a sample of a childhood cartoon theme, ‘Grizzly’ has a popular movie soundtrack sample featured halfway through. We want to showcase that and blend it with what we love. It’s something different and fresh.”
Focus soon turns to the band’s determined nature and the community they have built around them. Such a fierce and loyal global fanbase has certified Slaughter to Prevail’s staying power, but with that elevated profile comes a level of public access and criticism that the band have also had to face.
Though Shikolai is more hesitant to wade into conversations about politics or social issues in a public space these days, his comments in 2023, reiterating right-wing anti-trans talking points online, drew understandable criticism from members of the LGTBQ community and allies all the same.
In person, Shikolai is much more focused on the positive effects he sees his music having on what has become a diverse community of fans around the world. He doesn’t shy away from the positions he has taken on various topics, but both he and Simmons adamantly assert that they don’t want to breed an air of exclusion or isolation with their music.
For Slaughter to Prevail, they understand that they’re not going to be for everybody – both their sound and their delivery – but for those who it does connect with, they want a feeling of empowerment and betterment to be at the core of each experience they have.
“A lot of people react to us and say we are toxic and very right wing, this is not the case,” Shikolai says, matter of factly. “They think this because we push our morals, but it is my right to push my morals. I don’t say that your morals are bad. I have just been through really bad things and I want to help people. If it helps people, that’s good. If it doesn’t help, then just ignore us.”
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“We had a soundcheck yesterday at our sideshow,” Simmons adds. “We were contacted by a father of a young fan; his son was too young to attend the show, but wanted to meet the band. We organised for his kids to come to the soundcheck and he started to explain that they get it.
“When Alex is on social media talking about ‘not being weak’, it’s not about de-motivating people, it’s about empowering; encouraging people to be better versions of themselves the next day, wherever you are in life. It’s about moving forward. It’s never to put anyone down. It’s not a bad thing to be down or depressed, we’re just saying that you can find a way out of it. You can feel better and be better for yourself.”
Shikolai agrees. If Grizzly takes Slaughter to Prevail to the next level, then that is success in the traditional sense. For the heavily tattooed frontman, who could be described as being a provocateur in the same breath as an enfant terrible of deathcore, he wants his impact to extend beyond the music itself.
“It was my goal and is still my goal, to have this cult-like community around us,” he says. “It’s not just about the music; it’s about the power and energy that stands behind the music. I try to create this fanbase and community around us and spread a message of being a better version of yourself everyday.
“You have to fight your weakness, even if it’s very hard or difficult. I, too, have gone through this. Depression, addiction… I was drug-addicted and almost died because of it. I have had so many shit situations in my life and I went through it. Don’t give up, you are better than this. For me, it’s a big deal, because I felt it and I know there are a lot of people struggling with this shit right now.
“I believe that what we are doing helps people. Music helps people. Music can be motivation, and I am glad for that. I can see it in the crowd, the people look strong. Even if you are not physically big, you have a big spirit. I respect that.”
More information about Knotfest Australia is available here.
